Monday, July 30, 2007

Tsampa

Last night was Mike's last night in the city for a while, so we met up with Nicole and Jason at Tsampa for dinner.

Tsampa is a Tibetan restaurant. It's health-ish and has good vegetarian choices but as Tibetan buddhists are not 100% vegetarian, so Tsampa is not 100% vegetarian either.

I was intrigued by the Tse Nezom which was described as "14 Different Vegetables." Why 14? Was that a magical Tibetan number that comes with the promise of long life and happiness? I had to try it.

To start we all split Lhasa Momo (Dumplings stuffed with Garden Vegetables and Shiitake Mushrooms) and Kathmandu Aloo (Chilled Spicy Potatoes served On Fresh Greens). The Momo was a bit bland even with the spicy dipping sauce. The Kathmandu Aloo was really great.

The Tse Nezom was tasty. I could only identify 5 or 6 vegetables in the ridiculously low light, but I'm sure all 14 were there.

Mike and I also ordered Bocha which is Tibetan tea with butter and salt. He said it was an acquired taste, but I immediately liked it. It tastes exactly how you would imagine butter, salt, and tea to taste when you think about it, and it is delicious. It seems a bit weird, but it has the same feeling as drinking chicken broth out of a mug.